Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of controlling access and use of copyrighted documents, and in particular, it relates to such control when generating a compilation of works in electronic or printed forms.
Description of Related Art
With the wide adoption of a variety of electronic reading devices, such as e-book readers, tablet computers, smart phones, laptop computers, etc., works such as books, articles, images and graphics, etc. which are traditionally available in print forms are now increasingly being consumed in electronic (digital) forms. Consumers purchase or otherwise obtain works in electronic form suitable for electronic reading devices. Meanwhile, consumers sometimes desire to print such works in hardcopy form, for example by utilizing services commonly referred to as print on-demand (POD). POD refers to production of commercial-quality printed and finished products such as books and booklets on a relatively small scale, typically by a professional print shop, at the request of customers. In a POD transaction, a customer provides the contents (electronic form) to be printed and specifies the physical requirements of the printed product, and the print shop produces such product according to the customer's specifications.
As works are often protected by copyright, management of copyright of works being consumed in various formats (electronic, hardcopy, etc.) is important. For example, when a customer request printing of a booklet by a POD service, some contents provided by the customer may be copyrighted work, and compliance with copyright permission may be a concern.